Full Moon in Taurus: Retrograde Reflections and Inspired Action

The Taurus full moon has arrived and is illuminating our relationship with power as it squares Pluto, currently out of bounds in Aquarius. If you feel powerful, that will be amplified, if you feel powerless, that will be amplified. Choose your energy wisely. The collective moment of people headed to the vote across the globe feels pretty on point for this Full Moon squaring Pluto in the sign of collective power.

With Venus and Mercury now retrograde it's a time to reflect and listen in, not only to your inner knowing, but what the Universe is whispering. Halloween/Samhain is known as a time when the veil is thin. There are signs all around us, and the retrogrades help us slow down and move deliberately, so that we can pick them up.

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00:00 Welcome Back Update
02:13 Scorpio Season Samhain
06:09 Venus Retrograde Themes
08:28 Mercury Retrograde Slowdown
11:46 Venus Cazimi New Era
15:17 Full Moon Taurus Basics
16:46 Pluto Square Power Struggle
20:04 Elections Take Action
28:41 Mystic Rectangle Clarity
33:04 Personal Shift Yoga Ending
39:02 Recalibrate Energy Prana
41:36 Ritual Intentions Samhain
43:53 Final Vote Call

What is Essential Astrocast?

Get the essential astrology download for your week! Your host, Veronica Perretti, delivers the forecast with humor and clarity so that even the newest astro-phile can follow along. Discover how current events are impacted by the movement of the planets. Find out what's happening up there in the heavens so you can dictate your fate down here on Earth.

Welcome to the Essential Astrocast.

I am your host, Veronica Perretti, and
this is the podcast that you listen

to when you want to know what's going
on up in the heavens so that you can

dictate your fate down here on Earth.

Welcome back.

I am so happy to be here with you.

I cannot believe that I haven't
recorded anything since early September.

Today is October 26, 2026.

I did not mean to take such a big break.

My life has been really full.

I know that I always say that, and you
keep hearing that, and I apologize for

continuing to go missing and then come
back, but hopefully, you're happy to

see me pop up in your podcast feed.

I wanted to come on today because
we have a full moon in Taurus, and

there is a lot to talk about with
this full moon, so I didn't wanna

miss the opportunity to do it.

And I've had a lot of things shift in
my own life and focus and things, which

I'll talk about later in the podcast,
give you a little bit of an update.

But before we get into all of that, I just
wanna take a moment, take a deep breath.

Feel your belly, your ribs,
and your chest inflate.

And as you exhale it out, release it from
your chest, your ribs, and your belly

And just take a moment to feel your body.

Know that you are here in this moment,
at this time, and you chose to be here.

Your soul chose to incarnate so
that we could all be together

on the planet at this time.

So things have been really intense.

I don't need to tell you that.

If you're paying attention to anything
going on in the world, you see

the intensity, and so much of that
intensity is really highlighted and

accelerated by this full moon in Taurus.

So I wanted to talk about it.

So without further ado,
we are in Scorpio season.

Welcome.

It's the season of the witch,
the season of all things spooky.

I love Scorpio season.

Um, Scorpios get a bad rap, and I'm
not really sure why other than the

fact that Scorpios tend to be intense
and deep, and they cut through the BS.

So maybe other people don't like
that, but I love that as a person

with, um, Scorpio in my seventh house.

Uh, it is definitely a part of my chart
that, um, I really relate to people that

have Scorpio placements in their chart.

Um, I bring in that energy a lot,
and there is a sense of the veil

being thin this time of year.

So Scorpio season, it always comes
right before Halloween, which makes

sense because All Hallows' Eve, you
know, this comes from a, a ritual

of, um, a ritual of putting out, uh,
gourds and putting out food so that

the evil spirits would pass you over.

And so this idea of
trick-or-treating is very old.

It dates back very long time, and I've
talked about that in previous years.

I'm not gonna get too much into it today.

But I wanted to say that there is
a real opportunity at Halloween, at

Samhain, to go inward, to listen, to
hear not only your own inner knowing,

but hear from your spirit guides.

And I had a personal experience a
few weeks ago of going to a psychic

medium demonstration, and my dad came
through, and it was really wonderful.

And when I saw that it was gonna be
happening at our local community center

here, I was like, "Oh, you know, I'm
gonna sign up for that," because I've

talked to a medium, talked to my dad
through a medium many times since

he died, but I haven't since 2021.

And I decided that, you know,
maybe he has something to tell me.

I haven't needed to get a reading
'cause I haven't had a real

question, but I wanted to see if he
had something to say, and he did.

And Chiron was sitting on my
ascendant for the second time.

I'm gonna get one more pass of
Chiron, and it was really healing.

It was really healing.

So- Just to hear that he was proud of me
and my life choices and how I was living

and all of that meant so much to me.

So all of that is to say Venus has been
retrograde in Scorpio, so the- we've been

feeling that connection to the other side.

And now that the sun is here in
Scorpio, like every year when we

approach Halloween, Samhain, it is a
time to listen not only to your own

inner knowing, that own, your own
voice, but also to hear if there are

any other messages coming through.

So for me, I have a little something.

You know, if I hear Frank Sinatra out
in the world, I mean, obviously not

when I put it on myself, but if I'm
in a grocery store and I hear Frank

Sinatra or, um, at a restaurant,
I always know my dad is with me.

So that's a little agreement I
made with him in the afterlife

to let me know that he's nearby.

So if you have a little agreement with
the people on the other side, um, or if

you don't, you can make one right now.

But look for those signs, you know,
maybe it's a feather that shows

up, and that represents someone
that you loved and has passed on.

Um, so maybe it's playing cards.

I saw-- I follow Monica Lewinsky
on, uh, Instagram and Threads.

She's a really great follow and,
um, she has a great podcast as well.

And she has been posting that she keeps
seeing playing cards, like, all the time.

And I'm not sure the meaning of them
to her, but those signs, those things

will show up a lot during Scorpio
season when the veil is said to be thin.

And we've been experiencing it
the past few weeks because Venus

has been retrograde in Scorpio.

So Venus retrograde is pretty intense.

Venus retrograde is one of
the most intense retrogrades.

So we had Venus retrograde or stationed
a retrograde in Scorpio at eight degrees

of Scorpio on October third, and she was
in Scorpio swimming backwards until just

this past weekend, October twenty-fifth.

She's now back in Libra, so she's gone
back into the later degrees of Libra.

So from eight degrees
Scorpio, she swam backwards.

She got to Libra.

Now she's moving back through
the j- late degrees of Libra.

She will station at 22 degrees of
Libra on November 13th We will have

a shadow period after that, but
those are the main the main dates.

So just know between now and, you
know, since October 3rd through

November 13th, there might be ghosts
from the past that are coming up, and

they might not be on the other side.

Maybe it's an old boyfriend, an
old girlfriend, an old friend.

It could be someone that you
have unfinished business with.

It could be someone that's just a
delight to see that makes you remember,

oh, how fun that time in my life was
when I was 20-something, and I was

living in New York or somewhere else.

So just note that this is a time
when old things will crop up.

Venus is associated with all
things relationship, but she's

also associated with our money.

So notice if money stuff comes up.

So you might notice, like, ooh, I
didn't know that that bill wasn't

paid, or I didn't know that that
thing was gonna cost so much.

Those things might happen.

It also is a great time to get your money
stuff in order 'cause Venus is retrograde.

Retrogrades are indicative of
reviews, reflection, revising.

So I know I'm way behind on tracking
all of my expenses this year, so I need

to make a date in my calendar after
the election in November to sit down

at my desk and plow through that one
day while Venus is still retrograde.

To help you with that practice
is Mercury because Mercury is

also retrograde, like, right now.

Yes, the fun never stops.

So we have Mercury.

Mercury just retrograded or stationed
to retrograde on the 24th of October.

So again, that was just on Saturday.

Yes, they retrograded within
one day of one another.

So Mercury retrograded on the 24th at 20
degrees of Scorpio, and Mercury will be

retrograde until November 12th, and he
will station at five degrees of Scorpio.

So Mercury will spend his entire
retrograde in Scorpio, and he will

station direct one day before Venus.

So November 12th, 13th, that time, we
are going to have both planets station.

So this next few weeks, things
are going to be a little slower,

and retrogrades are not bad.

Retrogrades are naturally occurring.

Retrogrades are there to help you slow
down, reflect, revise, edit, check in.

If you, like me, have been running
yourself ragged all through summer, all

through September, even into October,
this is the welcomed respite we need.

Is it frustrating?

Sure.

Is it helpful?

Yes.

So here we are.

We are in this retrograde season.

I know for me, I am desperate for
some time alone, to tune inward,

to get back to my journaling,
to get back to my meditating.

These are all the things that
I'm going to be prioritizing in

November and December, getting back
to my relationship with myself.

It is, not lost on me that Venus
and M- Mercury are both retrograde

in my seventh house of one-on-one
partnership, being with other people.

And of course, all I
wanna do is be by myself.

So I will work on that.

That's part, probably part
of my work for this season.

But Venus is now retrograde in Libra.

So if you were feeling like you
were in a really dark place with

Venus retrograde in Scorpio, and a
lot of the darkness was coming up.

We saw this collectively.

We saw this story about the Cornell Seven.

Um, we saw the stories about what is
going on in ICE detention centers.

There are young girls that are being
impregnated and being disappeared.

There are horrible stories about
women being abused, mistreated all

over the globe that were coming
really to the forefront with Venus

retrograde in Scorpio Those things
are happening all the time, right?

But our collective acknowledgments of
them, our collective outrage about them,

that is a moment that change can happen.

So Venus retrograde in
Scorpio is really powerful.

It is very powerful and
particularly important because

this is the last one that we'll
be experiencing in our lifetime.

Because Venus, the way she moves through
the sky, she retrogrades the least often.

And every eight years, she
forms a conjunction with the

sun, what we call Venus cazimi.

Anytime a planet joins the
sun, it's called a cazimi.

Cazimi means in the heart of, and it
means that the planet is being purified

by the heat, the fire of the sun.

So Venus enters that ritual of
going into the underworld and

then being purified by the sun.

Right now, because Venus is so close
to the sun, we cannot see her, but she

will emerge soon as a morning star.

And Venus will be a morning star
for many months, and then next time

she meets the sun, she will again
have that process of purification.

She will disappear, and then she
will emerge as an evening star.

And she does this dance all the time,
and the dance creates this beautiful

pattern in the sky of a pentagram.

And if you look at that pentagram
over many, many, many years, it

creates a spiral, a big spiral flower.

And that spiral flower, it
has five general points that

very slowly move over time.

That means that Venus is meeting the sun
only in five s- uh, signs for, you know,

about a hundred something years, and
then she slowly moves to the next sign.

So we are in a moment of transition.

We are in a moment of stepping into a
new era where Venus, for many, many,

many years, for over a hundred years,
has been meeting the sun in Scorpio.

And now she will begin
meeting the sun in Libra.

And Venus in Libra is in her domicile.

That is where she i- holds power.

That is where she's in charge.

She rules the scales of justice in Libra.

So Venus in Scorpio for this century plus
has helped us unearth the abuses, has

helped us unearth the lack of justice.

And I hope that this moment…

Venus met with the sun
at zero degrees Scorpio.

Zero is the very start.

It's the very essence.

It's the purest experience of any sign.

To have Venus meet with the sun at zero
degrees Scorpio, it is a new beginning.

So, so many of these things that
collectively are outraging us, are

scaring us, are making us feel helpless,
hopeless, we are meant to deal with them.

We are not meant to sit by and
feel helpless and hopeless.

We are meant to take our
rage and take action, take

inspired action with that rage.

And luckily, the planets are here
to support us this week, so I don't

want any of us to sit back and waste
this opportunity, and that's why I

had to come on and talk to you today.

So Venus retrograde continues,
but she's in Libra, and so she is

a little friendlier and probably
helping us work through some stuff

in our one-on-one relationships.

Now let's get to the full moon.

The full moon is ruled by Venus
because it in, it is in Taurus.

Venus is now happily in
her domicile in Libra.

So Venus is ruling this full moon
at two degrees of Taurus that

occurred today on the twenty-sixth.

It occurred in the wee morning hours
at twelve twelve AM East Coast time.

So most of us were sleeping.

Um, my son was very happy
to see the full moon.

He's really into the moon
right now, which is fun.

Every night we look for the moon
before bed, and he's having a great

time learning about the moon phases.

And with the full moon in Taurus,
it's a wonderful new moon in gen--

uh, full moon rather in general.

The full moon or the new moon in
Taurus is always delightful because

it is where the moon is exalted.

Exalted means that it's
feeling like the royal guest.

It's feeling like it has special power.

It's feeling really beautiful
and valued and appreciated.

So it's sort of like when the Queen goes--
or when the Queen was alive, I would

always say, in previous administrations,
when the Queen would come to the

United States and was the royal guest,
and they pulled out all the stops.

That's the moon in Taurus.

So the moon in Taurus is feeling good.

The full moon occurs when the sun
is opposite the moon, and the moon

can reflect back the sun's light.

Now, this full moon is
in a square to Pluto.

That is intense.

Pluto is in Aquarius.

I've been talking about Pluto for years,
so if you've been around here for a

while, this is gonna be a recap for you.

We are in the Pluto return of
the United States of America.

Pluto takes two hundred and fifty
years to go around the zodiac.

Officially, we had our Pluto return
in 2022, but I feel that our Pluto

return is not done until Pluto gets
to eight degrees of Aquarius because

Pluto was at eight degrees of Aquarius
when the Revolutionary War was done

and won by the Patriots, right?

So there were the
Loyalists and the Patriots.

And not unlike what we're seeing
today hint, in what-- in our

politics and in our world, right?

There are the Loyalists that are loyal to
the regime of the moment, and there are

the Patriots, the people that are looking
to preserve democracy and the traditions

and rituals that we've known as a country.

Not to say that all the things about
America are great and that people haven't

been tortured, abused, and terrified for,
you know, two hundred and fifty years.

But in general, this idea
of our vote having power.

There are those that wanna protect
it, and there are those that do not.

They wanna do away with it.

So we could call them
Loyalists and Patriots.

So all of that to say that we are back
in that energy, and that's why I do

not feel that the Pluto return is done.

I think that most empires take
about two hundred and fifty, three

hundred years to fall, and that's
probably having to do with Pluto.

So with that, we're living
through that moment, and as I

said at the top of the podcast, I
believe that we chose to be here.

We chose to incarnate and be here at
this moment in time and live through

these events, and we're here to play
a part and to exercise our power.

You're not here to sit
back and be a spectator.

You're here to take part.

So Pluto was in Aquarius during
the American Revolution as well as

the French Revolution, so there's
a lot of French Revolution energy.

We also see the protests and riots that
were happening in Paris and in France.

We also just saw two amazing
elections that happened in Brazil.

Their author-authoritarian type figure
of Bolsonaro who wants to clear-cut

the Amazon rainforest was finally,
thankfully voted out, and we just

saw the same thing happen in Serbia.

So we have a lot of this energy of
the people taking back their power,

the people taking back the idea
of we will not be ruled by kings.

We will not be ruled by an authoritarian.

We will not be ruled by
fascist dictators, right?

Now we have a very important election
coming up here in the United States

of America, and there's a very
important election going on in Israel

It's pretty amazing that on
the full moon in Taurus that in

Brazil they voted out Bolsonaro.

Of course, Taurus is the farmer, the
gardener, the preserver of the earth,

and that election was so important
not only for Brazil, but for all of

us, because if there is any further
degradation of the Amazon rainforest,

climate change will speed up exponentially
and really be untenable for any of us.

So all of that to say that the
consequences of these elections are major,

probably the most major in our lifetime.

Um, certainly in the US, the
most major in our lifetime.

And with that said, we
cannot be spectators.

We have to take action.

We have to take inspired action.

So find one thing you can do.

Don't be overwhelmed by it.

I know it's really easy to be
overwhelmed and be like, "What can I do?"

You can knock doors.

You can make phone calls.

There are organizations that you can sign
up to help people cure their ballots.

So people that, um, submit ballots
that are, negated for whatever reason.

Sometimes people don't know that their
ballots have been negated, and you

can go and, uh, sign up to help cure
ballots, call people who voted, thought

their vote went through, and it didn't.

Um, I'm not sure exactly the organization.

I saw it online, but I will find
it for you if you're interested.

I am a big proponent of knocking doors.

I knock doors in my neighborhood.

I live in a swing district, but
if you don't live in a swing

district, you can make calls.

Um, one of my favorite organizations
is And one of my favorite

organizations is Knock for Democracy.

You can go to knockfordemocracy.org,

and they have phone banking, and it's
a really supportive environment, and

you get on a Zoom call with a bunch of
other people who are calling at the same

time, and it just feels less isolated.

Another option is going left.

There are lots of organizations.

You can go to mobilize online and find
something that's happening near you.

There are many ways to get involved.

So those are some things, right?

We know that this Pluto and Aquarius
energy is about the community.

It's about the people coming together.

Aquarius is always associated with the
social activists, with the humanitarians,

with people coming together to rise up,
whether that is violent or peaceful.

Aquarius is present when it comes to
people and movements and thought leaders,

and this can be used for good and this
can be used for bad because remember,

astrology is not positive or negative.

It is neutral.

It is the energy that we're working with,
and we choose how we work with it, right?

So let's take this energy and
use it for something good.

Now, what's making this full moon even
more interesting, we have that full moon

squaring Pluto, which is really bringing
our attention to where there is a power

struggle, to where there is greediness and
people clutching power or stealing power

away or trying, trying to take your power.

You might be seeing this in your own
life, maybe not just in the collective.

Pluto is out of bounds.

Pluto is out of bounds, and that
means that Pluto is riding lower

than where the ecliptic is, the,
the Earth's path around the sun.

So when the Plu- when Pluto or
any planet is out of bounds,

it's gonna be a little excessive.

It's going to have high
highs and low lows.

It's going to hit the
home run or strike out.

So Pluto out of bounds means
that everything has an intensity.

Everything is over the top right now.

We have not had Pluto out of bounds
since the nine- 1938 to 1953.

So during that time, we were
working with Pluto out of bounds

off and on, same as right now.

I mentioned this at the start of the
year in my start of the year workshop.

We're working with Pluto out of
bounds for a number of years here.

So this is not a new thing, and it's not
something that's gonna go away quickly,

but he is out of bounds right now.

Having this moon, new moon…

I'm sorry, I keep saying that.

Having this full moon illuminate Pluto
out of bounds, squaring that Pluto out

of bounds, it has us working with our
understanding of our power as a collective

So if you feel helpless, that
is going to be amplified.

If you feel empowered, that
is going to be amplified.

So choose how you wanna show up and
be really conscious of the energy that

you're putting out Now mind you, who
was born during that time, 1938 to 1953?

The Pluto in Leo generation.

People born with Pluto
in Leo are the boomers.

These are the people that are clutching
power, that are not letting go.

These are the Chuck Schumers,
these are the Donald Trumps.

They don't wanna let go.

They're like, "No."

Guess who else was on the
campaign trail this weekend?

Barack Obama.

He's a Leo.

You know, Trump has a Leo ascendant,
JD Vance is a Leo ascendant,

Barack Obama has a Sun in Leo.

They've all got Pluto in Leo.

They don't wanna let go of being relevant.

So this is the time, and I'm not saying
we don't welcome Barack Obama back to

the campaign trail, but this is the time
for the shifting to a new generation.

This is the time.

They're…

The Pluto in Aquarius is opposing the
Pluto in Leo in these people's charts

for the next 20 years starting now.

So the older ones are getting it now,
and the younger ones will get it later.

But it is a time of passing the
baton and allowing the power

to move to the next generation.

Okay.

The other reason that we're seeing
a lot of these elections go this

way, and why we see a lot of people
falling from power or passing on

who are just really notable people.

We've lost some really big
people in the past few months.

We've had, um, Gloria Steinem
and Dolly Parton come to mind,

and there are many actors.

I know Mr.

Belding from Saved by the Bell just
died, which some of you may or may

not remember depending on your age.

But a lot of notable people
have been passing on, and we

have the South Node in Leo.

Leo is kings, but it's also celebrity.

It's also the people that
just shine bright and show

us what bravery looks like.

And Jupiter is approaching the
South Node in Leo, and it's

getting closer and closer.

It's not quite there yet, but for
all intents and purposes, I would say

Jupiter is conjunct the South Node
right now while that North Node is

across the way in Aquarius sharing the
same sign as Pluto, although they're

at very different parts of the sign.

Pluto's at the beginning and the
North Node is at the end because

the no- nodes move backwards.

So with that said, we are having a
release of some of those people that

we put on the pedestal, whether they're
authoriante- authoritarian regime

leaders, or they are people that we
love and adore like Dolly Parton.

There is a release of people that
we put on a pedestal in some way,

and these elections are showing an
acceleration of that, of releasing people

that are on a pedestal in some way.

Okay.

So the other thing that's making me feel
very optimistic about this election,

and I'm sorry I'm really talking a lot
about the election, but I just can't

see anything outside of it right now.

I'm very biased because, of course, I'm
extremely emotionally invested and doing

a lot of work, and I've been doing work
for months and months and months, which

is why you haven't heard from me as much
this year, and it's been a year where

my focus and my work in the world has
shifted, and a lot of that work has been

in community organizing and Democratic
organizing and getting out people because

I do live in a swing district now.

So with that said, we have a
mystic rectangle that is occurring.

So mystic rectangle helps us find
clarity, but we gotta do some work.

It's not like it comes easily.

It means there's two oppositions
happening, and then all the planets

are connected by sextiles and
trines making a rectile formation.

We have a mystic re- mystic rectangle
with us through election day.

We had it last week with the sun,
and then Venus took the sun's place.

So we've been working with
it for a few weeks here.

So if you feel like things are all of
a sudden becoming a little bit more

clear, or maybe the thing that you're
working on is becoming more clear,

the mystic rectangle could be helping
'cause the sun was opposite Chiron last

week, and now Venus is opposite Chiron.

Chiron is the wound.

Chiron is our insecurities.

Chiron is our relationships to
our Ego's really the sun, right?

So sun opposite Chiron is the ego.

Venus opposite Chiron is the wounds in
relationship and our sense of self-worth

and our value and what is important to us.

So all of these things are,
like, coming to the surface.

I also would say Venus in Libra
being in the sign of the scales of

justice opposite Chiron in Aries.

Aries is the god of war.

Aries is the sign associated with war.

I'm an Aries.

I got a lot of that fight,
a lot of that fire in me.

Aries loves an underdog.

Venus in Libra wants to restore peace.

It wants to restore justice and equality.

So having the Ve- Venus in Libra,
her home sign, opposite Chiron

in Aries tells me that this is a
fight for those that are wounded.

This is a fight for those
who have been not valued.

This is a fight for the people
that need us to fight for them.

This is a fight for justice, and
so we gotta show up to that fight.

We're not just gonna be able to
lean into the sextiles and trines

and have it happen on its own.

We gotta do the work, right?

'Cause the opposition says, "I
gotta meet you in the middle.

You do something, you keep your side of
the street clean, the universe will keep

the other side of the street clean."

We gotta move to the middle.

We gotta work together.

We can't just expect it to fall into place
just because it's a mystic rectangle.

It gives us the clarity to know what
to do next, but then we gotta go do it.

So the other piece of the mystic rect-
rectangle, the other opposition, is

the north node in Aquarius opposite the
south node in Leo, which is now conjunct

Jupiter and Leo as I just mentioned.

So when we fight for those
who have been wounded, abused-

not valued

When we fight for them and we release
the kings, we release the idea that

there is some savior that is going to
show up and save us, and we remember

that the savior is the collective,
the savior is the community.

The Buddha said, or was the Dalai
Lama said, "The next coming of

the Buddha will be the Sangha."

The next coming of the Buddha,
the next coming of the enlightened

one will be the Sangha.

The Sangha is the community.

So this is a time with Pluto and Aquarius
representing the power to the people,

the power of community, the power in
the collective of gathering together.

This is a time of remembering
that power and utilizing it.

So that's pretty much everything
I wanted to say today.

I hope it's helpful.

I hope it gives you a little bit of
peace, but I hope it even more so

gives you inspiration to go out and
do something, to talk to a friend.

The best canvassing is
relational canvassing.

Talk to someone

Make sure they're voting, make
sure they have a plan to vote, help

them understand the candidates.

Reach out to one of these organizations.

If you have an afternoon,
go out and knock some doors.

Um, they'll pair you with
someone who is experienced.

You won't have to do it alone.

Make some phone calls.

Knock for Democracy is a great one
if you've never done it before.

They'll walk you through it.

So my little personal update.

So I have, uh, in the spirit of Venus
retrograde in Scorpio, on the day of

the Venus cazimi, when the sun and
Venus join together at zero degrees

Scorpio, I let go of my yoga class.

I've been teaching Cosmic Yoga Club
online since twenty twenty, and I decided

to let it go, and it was really hard.

It's-- We've been together
since the pandemic, many of us.

Um, over time, I had
to change my schedule.

I was teaching Monday, Wednesday,
Friday consistently until this year.

At the start of twenty twenty-six, I
dropped down to one class on Friday.

And it was waning, and it had been waning
for a long time, and I know from a s--

from studying astrology and studying yoga,
the breath and the moon are the same.

We release with the exhale.

We release between the full moon
and the new moon, and we make space

for that next inhale to come in.

We make space for that next new moon
to bring in new energy, to bring

in our-- the things that we wanna
manifest and the intentions that

we want to bring energy to in the
future or in our life in the moment.

So I knew that, uh, there was a waning
energy happening, and I really struggled

with letting it go 'cause I have a
great sense of personal responsibility.

I have Saturn in Scorpio right on
my descendant, so I don't let go

of personal responsibility easily.

But it was time.

The south node in Leo
is in my fifth house.

My fifth house is the house of joy.

Fifth house is the house of children.

Fifth house is the house
of your inner child.

And it's creative self-expression.

It's inspiration, and I wasn't feeling
inspired teaching yoga anymore.

And I don't know why that is.

Maybe it's because it's been on Zoom
for so long, and I haven't taught in

person since March of twenty twenty.

And I'm going to play with the idea
of subbing at a community center here

and teaching in person in the new year
just to see what that feels like again.

But I had to let myself let go of it so
that I can make space for the things that

inspire me, but allow my yoga practice
to feel inspired by something new.

Because I've been teaching yoga since
2008, and it's really funny because

astrology, you can't make it up.

It's always real.

I started teaching yoga in October
… Well, really in the summer of 2008.

And I looked back to that time, and
I'm looking back at it now just to

remember exactly where the nodes were.

But the nodes were, w- it's a full l-
it's a full nodal cycle because back in

2008, we had the North Node in Aquarius
like it is now, and the South Node in Leo.

So when I did my teacher training,
actually, Mars was in Scorpio squaring

the nodes, like, at that, right
at the end of my teacher training,

and Mars is my ruling planet.

So there was really something
profound about that period of time

for me, and I stepped into teaching
right away and I loved it, and I

was like, "This is what I wanna do."

I felt so inspired by it,
and I knew it was my path.

So now I am opening
myself up to a new path.

That North Node in
Aquarius in my 11th House.

11th House is groups,
communities, friendships.

That period of time paved the
way for my entire adult life, be-

teaching yoga became the place
where I made friends and experienced

community and created community.

North Node in Aquarius, all about
community and friendships and groups.

And I experienced a sense of belonging,
and now yoga has been really…

Um, I've been teaching yoga online,
and it's been amazing to be with

my group that is so tight-knit.

But, um, it's not growing.

It's waning.

And there's another part of my life where
community is growing, and community is

growing fast in my local community, being
involved with, um, the nonprofit that

I am in charge of, and also with doing
local organizing for the local Democrats.

So it's been really an interesting
time, an interesting summer and fall

and last year, and sort of everything
kinda took off a year ago because I got

involved in the local election here.

Did a bunch of campaigning and getting out
the vote and realized how much I loved it.

I had done some of it before, but
not on such a hyper-local level.

And now that I live somewhere
where it's possible to do

that, it's been pretty amazing.

So that is where my energy is.

So with that, um, all the retrogrades
that are coming up, Venus and

Mercury, and soon we'll be talking
about Mars retrograde 'cause that's

coming at the end of the year.

But Venus and Mercury, they're in my
7th House of one-on-one partnership,

and I am, revisiting my relationship to
others, but also more importantly, my

relationship to myself and coming back
to how can I make space for my spiritual

practice again because that is really
what I'm yearning and, um, desiring at

this time, is more time with myself.

So balancing that 'cause I have a lot
of-- I've been spending a lot of time

this year out in community, and I need
this winter to reconnect with myself.

So with that, um, use the
retrogrades to reflect and consider

what's important to you now.

Where do you want to spend your energy?

Because, you know, one of my
former teachers, she said, um, "You

know, we only have so much prana.

We only have so much energy, and we walk
through the day spending our prana like

here you go, here you go, here you go."

Imagine if you just, you know, had
a bunch of cash in your wallet and

you were just sprinkling it out in
the world as you walked through the

world, you know, everywhere you went.

You wouldn't do that.

But we do that with our energy.

We just throw it out, here you
go, here you go, here you go,

to anybody who asks for it.

So we have to be deliberate
about how we spend our energy.

We have to be diligent About
how we spend our prana.

We have to be, we have to honor it.

And one of the things I noticed was
that I was showing up to a lot of

things out of personal responsibility,
and spending down my prana, and

there was nothing left for me.

So now I have to recalibrate.

I have to recalibrate.

I can't be a force, a powerful
force in the world if I am spent.

So with that, you notice that I
probably have some postnasal drip.

I'm fighting a little cold.

But I'm so happy that I got to talk to
you today, and it's been 41 minutes.

Oh my goodness.

I'm gonna wrap up.

I am gonna do another Cosmic
Conversation on November 12th, so you

can sign up for that on my website.

I will be back here to talk to you.

I don't know what kind of schedule I'm
going to settle in with on the podcast.

Right now I'm thinking if I can get to you
every new moon and full moon, that's twice

a month, and then I can hopefully drop in
for some quick sessions in between, um, if

there's something notable to talk about.

But again, this is a
time of me recalibrating.

But I know that this inspires me, and
this helps me feel a sense of connection

to my own inner knowing, as well as
the cosmic consciousness of the planet.

So I'm here.

I'm back.

I will be back soon.

I will be back for the
new moon in two weeks.

And until then, make sure you take
time to take care of yourself and

honor this period of reflection.

Samhain is a wonderful time to write
down some intentions for yourself.

So the ritual that I do, I take
nine pieces of paper, 'cause

nine is the eternal number
in yoga philosophy, Hinduism.

Nine pieces of paper, and I write nine
wishes for myself and/or for the universe,

for humanity, and I store those away.

And then I write a 10th one,
I, or I take a 10th one that's

blank, and I include that.

Then I put them all in a bowl, okay?

And I put that bowl on my altar, and I
have it on my altar until winter solstice.

And then on winter solstice, without
looking at the things I wrote, I burn

each of them until there's one left.

And then the one left, that is
the intention that I hold with

me going into the new year.

So my intention last year is
right here on my altar, on my

desk, and I will read it to you.

And I've been working with this
intention all year, chosen for me by

the universe as I burned all the other
ones, not knowing what they were.

And this one is, "I am energized and
motivated to move toward my dreams."

I am energized and motivated
to move toward my dreams.

So you can write down on those nine
slips of paper, you can write down

an intention, a wish for yourself,
and put it in the present tense.

I am, I have.

And write that down, put it on the
piece of paper, fold them all up.

Make sure that you
include one that is blank.

And the reason you include one that is
blank, it's because you wanna make space

for what the universe has in store for you
that you can't even imagine for yourself.

And then on winter solstice, you can
burn all but one without choosing it.

You just find out which one, you know,
is left, and you hold that intention

with you for going into the new year.

So if that is a helpful ritual,
you're gonna do that this

weekend on Halloween, Samhain.

And even if you can't do it this
weekend, anytime between now and winter

solstice, you can do that ritual.

It's a really, really nice one,
and I, I really recommend it.

Okay.

Lots of love to you.

Take care of yourself.

Take care of the people around you.

And whatever you do, go out and vote.

Vote like your kid's life depends on
it, because truly, if it's not your

kid, it's someone else's kid whose
life truly depends on us voting.

Okay?

Sending you off.

Take inspired action.

Bye.